


Big Reveal (no, Jun, Joshua is not pregnant)

by SandyRoses



Series: Under The Sea [4]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Chan is a brat, Chaos Boy Chan is back at it again, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups is Whipped, Comfort, Coming Out, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fish Boy Joshua, Fluff and Humor, I wrote this at like 2 am so sorry for any mistakes, Implied Sexual Content, Jun is the best character here, M/M, Mingyu has a bat, Rated T for mentions of sex, Sort Of, This is just soft ok don't hurt me, as usual, but we love him, like really slight - Freeform, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23320396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandyRoses/pseuds/SandyRoses
Summary: Joshua decides to tell the others about his...extra breathing apparatuses. Seungcheol supports him fully, of course, but things go a little sideways (and end up horizontal).
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua, Everyone & Everyone
Series: Under The Sea [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1476812
Comments: 25
Kudos: 140





	Big Reveal (no, Jun, Joshua is not pregnant)

**Author's Note:**

> ok so I didn't think I would post more Fish Boy stuff but someone in the comments gave me a really good idea and I couldn't just not do it so....  
> here's a treat!! More Swimmy Boye Josh!
> 
> STREAM FALLIN' FLOWER  
> STREAM FALLIN' FLOWER  
> STREAM FALLIN' FLOWER

Joshua was always full of surprises, Seungcheol had come to learn, whether it be in the form of teasing pranks, thoughtful gestures, or odd anatomy. He could switch from feisty and stubborn to soft and gentle in the blink of an eye, and Seungcheol was always on his toes; it came with being friends with Joshua and Jeonghan, both angels and devils in their own right.

So, it was both a surprise, and not a surprise, when Joshua decided to ask him an odd question right after they finished having sex, sounding way too innocent for the thick atmosphere of lust and heavy, sated warmth.

“Hey, Cheol?” Joshua hummed, tapping a finger against his bare chest, and Seungcheol, half-asleep, only mumbled wordless acknowledgement, drifting off comfortably. He had been running around a lot that day, adjusting schedules and recording with Jihoon and going over the filming for their latest music video. “Do you think I should tell the others?”

“Tell them what, baby?” he yawned, rolling onto his back and tugging Joshua on top of him.

“About me, y’know, being fishy. I know Jeonghan and Wonwoo know, and I’m half-certain Hansol knows because Hansol knows everything, which is weird in and of itself, but I dunno. I feel like they deserve to know,” Joshua said simply, drawing aimless patterns into Seungcheol’s bare skin with his fingertips. Seungcheol blinked open his eyes and frowned at the ceiling.

“...And you couldn’t have waited to ask me in the morning?” he groaned, squeezing Joshua’s waist tightly in retaliation.

“I’m serious, Cheol,” Joshua insisted quietly, and Seungcheol loosened his grip, patting Joshua’s bare hip apologetically. It wasn’t often that Joshua got serious like that, wasn’t often that he needed help making decisions, so Seungcheol figured he should probably sober up as well.

“...I mean, ultimately it’s always your decision, but I’m behind you in whatever you do. I think telling the others would definitely raise some...interesting questions, but I trust them, and they love you, so...at the risk of being overconfident, I say go for it,” he offered, and Joshua hummed, laying a grateful kiss right between his collarbones, where there was already the red-purple stain of a new hickey. Seungcheol tried not to shiver.

“...Then I’ll do that tomorrow. We have a little time off before anything to do, right? I think they can handle it.”

“You know Jeonghan and Wonwoo support you too,” Seungcheol reminded, and Joshua nodded, kissing his chest again, pulling the covers up tighter around them just the way he liked. “...I love you, Joshua.”

“I love you too, Seungcheol,” Joshua whispered back, voice turning softer, fonder. The sound of his name coming from Joshua’s lips always made Seungcheol happy, and as he closed his eyes again, he let out a slow sigh of contentment, warm and happy and tired. Everything would go fine, he was sure; they were family, and nothing could tear family apart. 

Besides, the others would probably find Joshua’s fishy-ness cool.

* * *

The next morning, he woke up before Joshua, which was a little odd, but he didn’t mind, taking the moment to savour Joshua’s heavy warmth, solid and steady on his chest, beautiful even in the patchy morning sunlight. Seungcheol reached up to pet his hair, so enamoured, but Joshua stirred at the light touch, burrowing further into the blankets. Seungcheol chuckled when he saw Joshua’s gills fluttering, and he pet them back down as gently as possible, smiling at the way Joshua’s nose twitched. Just like a cute little bunny, Seungcheol thought to himself.

“Sorry, love, but I need to get up,” he whispered, and Joshua grunted, rolling off of his chest and flopping onto the other side of the bed, tangling himself in all the sheets and making himself comfortable. Seungcheol just laughed fondly, leaning down to kiss the side of Joshua’s head before shimmying off of the bed and standing up, hunting for some clean clothes among the clutter. He was so glad Joshua was neater than he was…

Breakfast was a loud, raucous, comfortable affair as usual, with Mingyu and Soonyoung vying for extra portions as a sleepy Jeonghan yawned his way through making 13 people ramen and toast. Seungcheol made sure to give him a tight back hug in thanks and Jeonghan slipped him an extra piece of toast with a tired wink before slapping Chan’s hand away from the ramen pot. Life as usual, Seungcheol thought fondly to himself, chuckling as he sat down next to Hansol, who seemed half asleep, eyes drooping shut, cheeks stuffed full with ramen.

“You’re gonna need to be awake to swallow, Hansol,” he reminded, brushing the younger rapper’s hair out of the way. Hansol jolted upright, opening his eyes comically wide, and he finished his mouthful before giving a hum of gratitude, patting Seungcheol’s knee.

“Josh is coming downstairs,” he said quietly, shoving a triangle of toast into his mouth, and Seungcheol blinked; how could Hansol know? But indeed, less than 20 seconds later, he felt a hand in his hair and looked up to see Joshua smiling at him, all fluffed up in a big sweater and some comfy-looking sweatpants. Seungcheol smiled at him before glancing at Hansol, but the younger was already drifting off again, chopsticks halfway to his mouth. Seungcheol decided not to ask; Hansol was weird like that. Always knowing.

Turning his attention to Joshua, he caught the singer’s eye, but Joshua subtly shook his head, mouthing a silent “ _later_ ” that Seungcheol nodded too, feeling fond as Joshua bumped hips with Jeonghan and accepted his own bowl of ramen. A disgruntled noise followed shortly thereafter and told Seungcheol that Jeonghan had probably put something weird in Joshua’s bowl, like a teabag, or half a small potato. Such shenanigans were common between the two singers so Seungcheol wasn’t worried, especially when he saw Joshua pinching Jeonghan’s side mercilessly half an hour later.

With their day free until 4 in the afternoon, most of them spent the time either catching up on menial tasks, chatting, playing games, or, in Jihoon’s case...working. Seungcheol knew trying to dissuade him would be like trying to talk a mountain into moving, so he just grabbed a puzzle from their game closet and spread it out over the kitchen table, calmed by the slow task.

He had gotten all the edges connected and was slowly moving inwards when Joshua walked past him, giving him a smile and leaning on his back. “Hi,” he murmured, and Seungcheol hummed, turning his head to nose at Joshua’s cheek.

“Hey. You wanna join?” he offered, but Joshua shook his head with a soft hum, petting his hair.

“Mm, I was thinking of telling the others soon. You stay here and finish your puzzle.” Seungcheol nodded, already shifting his attention back to the scattering of pieces before him as Joshua walked into the kitchen, where Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Seungkwan were chatting about something or other, laughing occasionally.

However, in turning away, he missed the grin slowly growing on Joshua’s face.

“Hey do you wanna see a cool trick?” he heard Joshua say from the kitchen, and a weird, suspicious feeling rose in Seungcheol’s chest, making him pause in his puzzle-solving endeavors. Something was iffy about the tone of Joshua’s voice…

“Sure?” Seungkwan said, and it sounded more like a question. Even Soonyoung’s hum of agreement was a little wary, but Joshua’s response just sounded comically excited.

“Watch this!”

Seungkwan’s scream made him wince and squeeze his eyes shut; looked like his suspicions had been right. 

“Why- that- how- that is _not ok_!” Soonyoung shrieked over Joshua’s cackling laughter, and Seungcheol sighed as Seokmin just straight-up bolted out of the kitchen and dove behind the couch. Maybe he should step in.

“Where’s the fire!?” Seungcheol sighed louder as Mingyu thundered down the stairs, eyes wide and wild, a baseball bat in both hands, looking around frantically. “I heard screaming? Is Seungkwan ok? Cheol, what’s going on!?”

“Nothing. Nothing is going on. Joshua is being a dumbass,” Seungcheol grunted, reluctantly standing up and heading into the kitchen. “Joshua, did you really have to traumatize them like that?”

“I figured it would be funny,” Joshua giggled, wiping tears of mirth away from the corners of his eyes, leaning heavily against the stove. Soonyoung was holding out a large spoon like a knife, waving it around dramatically, looking a bit pale, and Seungkwan was just standing there, wide-eyed and stunned, mouth hanging open. Seungcheol sighed again.

“...Ok, maybe I could have done it a bit better,” Joshua conceded, hesitantly reaching out to take Seungkwan’s hand. When Seungkwan jerked away, wariness and just a tiny hint of involuntary distrust in his eyes, Joshua’s smile faded, and that was when Seungcheol knew he had to step in.

“Alright, team meeting!” he said loudly, grabbing Joshua’s hand and pulling him along. “Mingyu, please go collect everyone, and try to get Seokmin out from behind the couch. Shua, just- just sit there for a second, ok?” He directed the singer down on the couch, briefly petting his cheek to try and get rid of the slightly upset look on his face, and Joshua’s small smile was enough for him.

“I- uh...alright,” Mingyu said, sounding very confused indeed as he lowered his bat and trundled back up the stairs. Seungcheol eyed the bat and shook his head with a sigh before pulling out his phone and texting Jihoon, who was still in the studio, and Hansol and Chan, who were out eating and grabbing some more groceries.

Within 10 minutes, everyone was assembled in the living room, and Joshua was fidgeting awkwardly between Minghao and Jeonghan, who was whispering to him quietly, all his earlier playfulness gone as he rubbed Joshua’s back. Minghao shuffled over for Seungcheol to sit down next to Joshua, and Seungcheol ruffled Minghao’s hair with a fond, gentle smile, one Minghao returned with a slightly curious look in his eyes.

“So, you called us?” Wonwoo prompted once everyone was settling, and Seungcheol nodded, taking Joshua’s hand. He glanced at Joshua, who nodded in a sort of “go-ahead” way, so Seungcheol looked back at the others. Seungkwan, Soonyoung, and Seokmin were all smushed onto the same loveseat, eyeing Joshua with a mix of curiosity, wariness, and just plain confusion, and Seungcheol took a deep breath, squeezing Joshua’s hand once in a silent gesture of support.

“We- well, Shua, really, has something he wants to share with you. It’s really important to him, so please, just...keep an open heart and mind, ok? He’s still our Joshua. Just...I just ask you to listen to him.”

Jun gasped loudly, slapping his hands on his cheeks, an expression of playful delight on his face, and Seungcheol was confused for a second until he spoke.

“Oh my god, Shua, are you pregnant!?” he asked excitedly, and all of them burst into laughter at his childish awe, even Jun. Thankfully, it diffused the tension very well, and Seokmin almost fell onto the floor from how hard he was laughing. Seungcheol made a mental note to treat Jun to something nice later and sent the Chinese boy a grateful look, one Jun subtly nodded to. Jun was a smart cookie, smarter and more observant than most people gave him credit for, and Seungcheol always appreciated it.

“No, Jun, I’m not pregnant,” Joshua snorted, and though he still looked a little worried, he had relaxed significantly, which was exactly what Seungcheol wanted. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“Aw. You’re no fun,” Jun pouted, folding his arms and puffing his cheeks out, and Seungcheol exchanged a slightly relieved look with Joshua, who held tighter to his hand. Between Seungcheol’s hand in his and Jeonghan’s hand on his back, he looked ok enough to speak, and Seungcheol once again gave his hand a squeeze.

“So uh...first of all, sorry for...potentially traumatizing you three,” Joshua began, giving an apologetic nod to their gag trio, who all just exchanged a look.

“It’s fine, just...a little explanation would be nice,” Seokmin said in a kind of strained way, and that was when Chan piped up.

“What are you talking about? What’s going on?” he called, smushed under Wonwoo and Jihoon’s arms comfortably. Jihoon shushed him, booping his nose, and though Chan wrinkled his nose, he didn’t wiggle away, which was quite a feat, if Seungcheol considered it.

Joshua was silent for a few seconds, but it was a thoughtful silence, not a bad silence, as though he was just trying to figure out how to put his words. “...Ok, so you know how I love water and I love to swim and all that jazz, right?” There was a round of nodding, and Joshua’s grip on Seungcheol’s hand got tighter. “And you know how Seungkwan teasingly likes to call me a fish boy, right?” Again, more nodding, more wary that time. Joshua’s free hand fiddled with the hem of his shirt, and he laughed nervously before continuing, tilting his head slightly to the side.

“I mean, he’s not completely wrong,” Joshua finally said, and the familiar sight of his gills opening and closing met Seungcheol’s eyes. A shocked gasp ran throughout the room, and Joshua’s grip on Seungcheol’s hand was beginning to get kind of painful. Seungcheol didn’t dare let go though, even though his skin was turning white around Joshua’s fingers. 

Then Chan, blessed Chan, raised his hand and pointed at Seungcheol, and, voice slightly muffled from how he was being smushed against Jihoon, said two key words:

“Fish fucker.”

The entire room exploded in laughter, and even Seungcheol was trying hard to bite back a reluctant laugh as he grabbed a pillow and mimed throwing it right at Chan’s cackling head, smile wide and eyes bright. Inwardly though, Seungcheol was relieved. That meant things were ok. If they could laugh and joke in light of such an...interesting reveal, it meant everything was going to be fine.

Indeed, after the initial shock wore off from everyone’s faces, curiosity and awe took place, and Minghao was the first to scoot forward, bending his head towards Joshua’s neck, watching him open and close his gills avidly.

“Uwa...that’s so cool!” he chirped excitedly, giving Joshua a grin. “Is that why you love the water so much? Can you breathe underwater? Or do you have to go in the water to live? Are you amphibious or land-dwelling? This is so cool! You could explore sunken ships!”

Joshua laughed, looking relieved at Minghao’s enthusiasm, and brought the younger dancer into a tight hug, ruffling his hair. “Yes, I love the water, and this is partly why. I love the water because...I mean who wouldn’t? And yes, I can breathe underwater, and I can survive indefinitely in either place, but if I spend too much time on land without touching the ocean, then I get mild headaches, but they’re never bad. And honestly, now that you bring it up, I wanna do that someday,” he rattled off, and the others slowly came crowding forward with their own questions, all of which Joshua answered, looking happier and more relaxed by the second. Wonwoo and Jeonghan ended up sitting next to each other, exchanging small grins and quiet words, and Seungcheol just watched all of them happily, glad to see they were getting along well.

He would have to hit Chan with a pillow later though, for his cheeky little comment.

“So...you’re not some kind of eldritch monster that can open its neck at will,” Seokmin said eventually once the clamour had died down a little, and Joshua snorted out a laugh, looking hilariously confused.

“No?? I think you’ve been watching too many horror movies, Seok. I’m not some kind of Lovecraftian old one,” he chuckled, reaching out slowly to pat his and Seungkwan’s hair. They didn’t move away, didn’t even flinch, and that was when Seungcheol saw Joshua really relax, all the tension lifting away from his shoulders.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but...I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal, honestly, and no one asked, so…” Joshua shrugged, looking a little sheepish as he shot a glance at Seungcheol. “I mean, Seungcheol found out on accident, so...yeah.”

“Well, even if you were some kind of monster, you’re still our Joshua,” Jihoon said quietly, waving a hand around, and Seungcheol shot him a smile. Jihoon’s lips twitched up in faint amusement as Joshua flopped onto him, hugging him tightly, and he didn’t even protest when it escalated into a group-wide snuggle pile, with Jihoon and Joshua settled comfortably in the middle.

“Go on, get in,” Jeonghan encouraged, holding out a hand and looking up at Seungcheol, who was still perched on the arm of the couch, taking a couple pictures with his phone. The others nodded agreement, calling him closer, so Seungcheol rolled his eyes with faux tiredness, but he couldn’t quite hide the fond grin on his face as he allowed himself to be tugged down by Mingyu and Soonyoung. Immediately, he felt a head settle on his stomach, felt someone else lay across his legs, felt a hand lace with his, and contentment spread through him.

There was a warm silence as they laid there on the floor of their living room, and frankly Seungcheol had almost drifted off again, when Jun piped up again, a grin clear in his voice.

“Hey, Shua, would it be possib-”

“Jun, whatever you’re gonna ask me, _no_ ,” Joshua said firmly, and another round of giggles broke out among them, sending a warm cloud of happy butterflies through Seungcheol’s chest.

“...Thanks for being understanding, guys,” Joshua said a while later, and a hum of kindness rose from the rest of them.

“You could be a spider for all we care and we’d still love you,” Jeonghan chuckled, and Mingyu and Seokmin coughed from their corner of the puppy pile. “...Ok maybe not a spider, but you get the message.” Joshua laughed at that, and Seungcheol felt another hand creep into his, giving a gentle squeeze. He squeezed back.

“That’s...that’s nice to know. Thank you,” Joshua said softly, and once again, a comfortable silence fell.

* * *

“...Ok but-”

“Jun, no.”

“...Ok.”

**Author's Note:**

> Lee Chan is a little Shit but we love him and can you tell I love Jeonghan sm
> 
> ALSO IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE FALLIN' FLOWER MV OMG PLEASE GO TREAT YOUR EYES TO A GORGEOUS VIDEO
> 
> Speaking of, I want to start posting an angsty hanahaki story in honor of, literally, "falling flowers" so would you guys read it if I did? It's gonna be vv sad but I know y'all like angst
> 
> Anyway I hope u enjoyed  
> Go watch Fallin' Flower


End file.
